The Birth of the
African Union

On July 9 , 2002 at an meeting of African leaders in Durban, South Africa,
the African Union was born. What is the African Union and Why was it formed?

While you may not of heard of the
African Union, you have probably heard
of the European Union with its 15
member states? The EU, to use the
popular short form, is an organization
of European States that developed
out of the European Common Market
(ECM), which in turn was founded soon
after the end of World War II. The
primary purpose of the ECM was to
promote economic growth in Europe
through inter-nation cooperation.
As the result of success in economic
cooperation the member states of the
ECM decided to gradually move towards
greater social and political cooperation
through instituting the European Union.

The European Union is made of
the following important institutions:

· European Parliament
(legislature) with elected members
from each member country. The European
Parliament is located in three different
cities: the plenary sessions of parliament
meet in Strasbourg, France; parliamentary
committees meet in Brussels, and the
parliament's General Secretariat is
in Luxemburg. Can you think of reasons
why the European Parliament is three
different cities?

· Council of the Europe Union.
The EU does not have a president or
prime minister (can you think why
this is the case?). However the Council
of the European Union functions as
the executive branch of the EU. That
is, it is the main decision making
body of the EU. The Council is made
of ministerial (cabinet) representatives
from each of the 15 member countries.
The Council meets in Brussels and
Luxemburg.

· European Commission: is
the comprised of the senior European
bureaucrats or civil servants. What
do bureaucrats do? They are responsible
for carrying out or administrating
the decisions made by the Parliament
and Council. The European Commission
is headquartered in Brussels.

· European Court of Justice,
ensures that the Community law is
uniformly interpreted throughout the
EU. It also has the jurisdiction (authority)
to disputes between member states.

· European Central Bank frames
and implements European monetary policy;
it conducts foreign exchange operations
and ensures the smooth operation of
payment systems

However, in spite of this close cooperation,
the EU is not a federal system of
government like the United States
of America. Each nation-state in the
EU maintains its own sovereignty.
Perhaps over the next decades the
EU will move towards becoming a sovereign
United States of Europe, but at present
the EU is working to promote greater
cooperation between its member states.
Today citizens of EU member states
can travel freely without passports
or visas between member states. Indeed,
a citizen from Ireland, for example,
can work in Germany without getting
permission from the German government.
This is not the case in North America;
a US citizen cannot simply go to Canada
and get a job without first getting
a work permit from the Canadian government.

One of the most important indications
of the success of the European Union
was the introduction on January 1,
2002 of a single European currency
called the Euro. Not all EU member
states agreed to the new currency-Britain,
for example, decided to keep its currency
the Pound Sterling. However, most
EU countries have adopted the Euro.
This means that if you are traveling
through Europe you can use the same
currency as you travel in Germany,
France, Spain, Italy and Greece!

What does the European Union have
to do with Africa and the establishment
of the African Union? Not much directly,
but the EU provides the new African
Union with a very useful model of
for social, economic and political
cooperation.

Background to the African Union:
Pan-African Cooperation.

Cooperation between African nations
did not in July 2002 with the formation
of the African Union. Africa countries
have a rich tradition of collaboration
that dates back nearly 40 years to
the formation of the Organization
of African States in 1963

From the dawn of political independence in Africa more than forty years
ago relationships between African countries have been very important.
Although, as you know, there is great diversity in Africa, the many societies
and peoples of Africa have shared experiences that brought a sense of
unity and solidarity among African peoples and nation-states. The most
relevant of these shared experiences was colonialism. [You can learn more
about the history of coloration between African countries in Module
Ten: African Politics]

Colonial oppression and exploitation
within colonies helped unite different
ethnic and religious groups in a struggle
against colonialism. Not surprisingly,
the feeling of solidarity carried
across the national country boundaries
established by colonialism. Leaders
and citizens of countries that gained
their independence early showed great
support for the nationalist struggle
in countries not yet independent.
Many Africans agreed with a statement
that was very popular in the 1960s
and 1970s-No African is Free until
all Africans are Free!

Official government support for those
struggling for freedom, particularly
in the southern African settler colonies
of Angola, Mozambique, Rhodesia (now
Zimbabwe), Namibia, and South Africa,
was a central foreign policy focus
of most African countries until these
countries gained their independence.

Support for freedom and independence
for all African countries was not
the only uniting theme in post-independence
inter-African policy. Most of the
nationalist leaders who helped lead
their countries to independence were
influenced by the ideas associated
with Pan Africanism. Pan Africanism,
like most ideas, has different versions.
But at the heart of Pan Africanism
is the idea that all Africans have
shared experiences that help unite
them. These shared experiences are
connected to the exploitation of Africa
and Africans in the modern era, beginning
with the slave trade and culminating
in colonialism. Pan Africanists (promoters
of Pan Africanism), argue that these
factors unite not just the people
living on the continent of Africa,
but Africans in the Diaspora-most
of whom had been forced out of Africa
by slave trade and more recently by
the lack of economic opportunity in
a number of African countries. [Link
to Module 15: Africa and the World]

The Pan-African movement, which began
in the early twentieth century with
a series of Pan African Congresses
in Europe, from its very beginnings
asserted that Africa and its grand
diversity of peoples and societies,
could only prosper economically and
become free and powerfully politically,
if Africa was politically united in
a Pan-African country-a United States
of Africa. Pan Africanists were well
aware of the fact that colonialism
worked in Africa in part because European
powers were able to separate societies
and peoples through a policy of divide
and rule [Link
to Module Seven B: African History
since 1500]. Pan Africanists argued
that Africa could only be strong and
take its place among the world's economic
and political powers if it were united.
An Africa divided into more than 50
countries, some which were smaller
than a mid-size American state, was
destined to be political an economically
weak.

Early in the post-colonial era the
ideal of Pan Africanism came into
direct conflict with the imperative
of national sovereignty. Even among
African presidents like Kwame Nkrumah
(first president of independent Ghana)
who were strong advocates of African
unity, there was a realization that
unity would take a long time to achieve.
In the mean time, African governments
had to institute policies that would
defend their country's sovereignty.
Not surprisingly, policies and practices
that are aimed at protecting national
sovereignty have the effect of making
unity between nations more difficult!

Kwame Nkrumah:
Father of African Nationalism
and Committed Pan-Africanist

In 1999 the British Broadcasting
Company (BBC), which has the
largest English language listener-ship
of any radio company in Africa,
asked its listeners in Africa
to nominate and vote for the
most important African in the
twentieth century. The overwhelming
winner of this contest was Kwame
Nkrumah (1909-1972, who led
Ghana to independence in 1957
and who was a committed Pan
Africanist. This tremendous
tribute demonstrates the high
regard that people from every
region of Africa have for Kwame
Nkrumah, even though he was
victim of coup d'etat in 1966
and died in exile in neighboring
Guinea, 1972.

You can learn much about President
Nkrumah on a number of web-sites.
You may find it very interesting
to study the life of this great
proponent of African freedom
and unity.

Or you can go to your school
or community library and see
if there are any biographies
of Kwame Nkrumah available.
A good biography written for
students is:
Birmingham, David, Kwame Nkrumah:
The Father of African Nationalism
(Athens: Ohio University Press,
1998)

In spite of the tension between the
imperative for sovereignty and the
ideal of Pan African unity, the leaders
of independent African nation states
recognized the importance of dialogue
and good relationships between their
newly independent countries. In May,
1963 the leaders of 31 independent
African countries meeting in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia created the Organization
of African Unity (OAU). The purpose
of the OAU was to establish guidelines
for and to facilitate strong relationships
between independent African States.
The OAU Charter (a charter is like
a constitution) called for greater
unity among African countries, but
it established principles that made
unity more difficult: For example:

Principle of inviolability of inherited
boundaries. The word inviolability
means "cannot be changed."
In putting forward this principal
the leaders of African governments
stated clearly that the boundaries
between countries that were established
by colonial rule must not be changed.
Can you think of reasons why the
African leaders supported this principle?

Non-interference in domestic affairs.
The OAU Charter states very forcefully
that under no circumstances can
one country interfere in the domestic
(internal) affairs of another country.

These two principles firmly established
the sovereignty of the nation state
as being of greatest importance to
African states. In spite of the rhetorical
support for the idea of unity and
Pan Africanism, the OAU Charter placed
strong obstacles to achieving political
unity.

The OAU has done much to promote
economic and political cooperation
between member states. Moreover, the
OAU played a leading role in coordinating
opposition to colonial rule. In particular,
the OAU provided support for the struggles
of freedom in the settler colonies
of southern Africa-Angola, Mozambique,
Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

You can learn more about the OAU
which headquartered in Addis Abba
Ethiopia, by going to its official
web-site at http://www.oau-oua.org/

Africa Hall. OAU headquarters Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia . Also the headquarters
for the new African Union

From OAU to African Union

For quite a few years commentators
and ordinary citizens from throughout
Africa had come to question the effectiveness
of the OAU. This is particularly true
after 1994 when South Africa became
independent. As discussed in the previous
section, the most important goal of
the OAU from its inception in 1963
was to support the struggle for political
independence of all colonies in Africa.
This vision united all independent
African countries and the OAU was
able to provide leadership in the
liberation struggles in southern Africa-Angola,
Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa,
and Zimbabwe.

However the OAU was not as successful
in addressing other important issues
in post-colonial Africa. For example
the OAU's strong commitment to the
national sovereignty of each country
meant that the OAU was not able to
effective intervene in the civil wars
that devastated a number of African
countries. Similarly, the OAU could
not intervene in the member countries
where civilian governments were over-thrown
in military coups. [For more detail
on military governments in post-colonial
Africa look at Module
10: African Politics.]

Moreover, although the OAU had an
economic commission this commission
did not have resources or capability
to facilitate cooperation in addressing
Africa's economic problems. Similarly,
the OAU did not have an African Court
of Justice that could help settle
legal disputes between member states.

Given these realities African citizens
began to ask their leaders to seriously
think of reforming the OAU so that
this that it would be more effective
in addressing Africa's economic, political
and social problems, through promoting
greater cooperation and unity among
the 54 independent nation-states of
Africa. Some people suggested that
the OAU be disbanded and be replaced
by an organization that was similar
to the European Union, which by the
1990s had demonstrated its effectiveness
in facilitating collaboration and
unity in Europe.

At the 2001 OAU summit meeting of
African presidents in Libya, the leaders
committed themselves to the idea of
developing an African Union to replace
the OAU. As envisioned the African
Union would have some resemblance
to the European Union, but it would
reflect the needs and realities of
Africa.

In the past year Amara Essy, Secretary
General of the OAU, worked very closely
with leaders from throughout Africa
to develop a Charter (constitution)
for the new African Union. After much
debate and discussion the on July
9, 2002 at last OAU summit meeting
of African presidents they officially
ratified the AU Charter for the establishment
of the AU-and the simultaneous breakup
of the OAU.

African presidents
meeting in Durban, South Africa initiate
the African Union
July 9, 2002Amara Essy, Secretary
General of the new African Union

Flags of member countries
of the African Union at closing ceremonies
of the first Assembly of the African
Union, Durban, South Africa, July
10, 2002

Structure of the African Union

In its structure the AU somewhat
resembles the European Union, but
it also reflects the tradition of
the OAU. The AU will be comprised
of the following decision-making and
administrative organs.

1. The Assembly of the Union: The
AU Assembly will be the primary
decision making body of the AU and
will be made up of the Heads of
State of each of the 53 member countries.
The Assembly of the AU will meet
at least once a year it will be
the supreme decision making body
for the Union. The Chairman of the
Assembly will rotate each year between
the presidents of the member states.
The Assembly in structure and function
is almost exactly the same as the
OAU Heads of State Summit, which
also met once a year and which was
the supreme decision making body
of the OAU.

2. The Executive Council of the
Union: will be comprised of the
foreign ministers (same as Secretary
of State in the US) and will meet
twice a year in regularly scheduled
meetings. The Executive Council
will be responsible for making decisions
and developing policies in areas
of common interest to the member
states including: foreign trade,
energy development, food/agriculture,
water resources, environmental protection,
transport and communications, education
and human resource development,
health, science and technology,
immigration, and social security.
Foreign ministers had similar responsibilities
in the OAU

3. The Pan-African Parliament: "In
order to ensure the full participation
of African peoples in the development
and economic integration of the
continent, a Pan-African Parliament
shall be established. The composition,
powers, functions and organization
of the Pan-African Parliament shall
be defined in a [future] protocol
relating thereto." (from the
Constitutive Act of the African
Union). This is a brand new feature
of the AU; the OAU did not have
a parliament.

4. African Court of Justice: This
will be a new institution. The OAU
did not have an inter-African court.
Although the powers and function
of the African Court of Justice
have not been established, it should
assist in settling legal disputes
between member countries and help
secure justice against sever human
rights abuses anywhere in Africa.

5. The Commission of the Union:
will serve as the Secretariat of
the Union. As is the case of the
EU the AU secretariat will be responsible
for administering the projects of
the AU and carrying out the decisions
made by the Assembly and Executive
Council of the Union. The Commission
(like the OAU) will have its headquarters
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and it
will be headed by the Secretary
General of the African Union. The
Secretariat will be comprised of
AU civil servants who be recruited
from and will serve in all of the
member states.

6. The Permanent Representatives
Committee: Just as there are ambassadors
to the United Nations from each
of the UN member states, so too
there will ambassadors form the
AU member states who will be specifically
assigned the AU and who will reside
in Addis Ababa. These representatives
will meet regularly in the Permanent
Representatives Committee.

7. Financial Institutions of the
AU: The AU will develop in the near
future three brand new economic
institutions: The African Central
Bank; The African Monetary Fund;
The African Investment Bank. These
new organs will work towards promoting
economic growth, development and
cooperation within and between member
states.

8. Specialized Technical Committees:
to promote cooperation and collaboration
in addressing social, economic and
political issues in Africa the AU
will establish the following special
commission which will be staffed
by AU civil servants: Committee
on Rural Economy and Agricultural
Matters; Committee on Monetary and
Financial Affairs; Committee on
Trade, Customs and Immigration Matters;
Committee on Industry, Science and
Technology, and the Environment;
Committee on Transportation, Communications
and Tourism; Committee on Health,
Labor and Social Affairs; Committee
on Education, Culture and Human
Resources.

In its composition the AU does have
some similarities with the OAU, but
there are also important differences.
For example:

· The AU will have a Parliament
with representatives for each member
countries. The Pan-African Parliament
will be more representative and allow
for a much greater diversity of voices
to be heard than was the case in the
OAU.

· The African Court of Justice
will provide a place where disputes
between nations can be heard in a
unbiased venue. Just as importantly,
the AU will be able to hold those
guilty of gross human-rights abuses
accountable for their actions.

· The African Central Bank,
the African Monetary Fund, and African
Investment Bank will provide strong
institutional support for economic
cooperation and coordination throughout
the continent. Perhaps in the not
too distant future the AU will institute
a common African currency similar
to the Euro in the EU.

Supporters of the AU point out that
in addition to the structural differences
from the OAU, that the AU Charter
commits the Union to be more actively
engaged in the affairs of the member
states than was allowed by the OAU
charter. Given the OAU strong commitment
to the complete sovereignty of each
state, the OAU was not permitted to
intervene in the internal affairs
of a member state. Consequently, in
its 40 year existence the OAU never
directly intervened to stop a civil
war or human rights violations, not
even in 1994 in Rwanda during the
genocide that killed more than 500,000
people in the space of a few months.

The AU Charter specifically commits
the AU to intervene in civil wars
within member states and when there
are clear indications of human right
abuses. Moreover, the AU promises
to promote democracy and good governance
in its member states. This is a great
change from the OAU charter that clearly
prohibited the OAU (or any member
states) from intervening or interfering
in the internal political affairs
of any member country.

Will the African Union be as successful
as the European Union in realizing
it goals and agenda? Of course, it
is much too early to answer this question.
Africans from across the continent
have many different perspectives on
this question. Some people are quite
optimistic that the AU will play a
positive role in promoting cooperation,
democracy and economic development.
Others are more pessimistic believing
that Africa's political and economic
problems are too complex to be effectively
addressed by the any organization.
The pessimists also think that in
spite its Charter, some of the African
presidents who make up the AU Assembly
will not permit the AU develop the
power necessary to effectively engage
Africa's political problems, particularly
if this mean intervening in the internal
affairs of African countries.